Cape Town - Three state-owned enterprises (SOEs) failed to table their integrated reports to Parliament on time, Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown's office said on Tuesday.
Brown informed the Speaker that SA Airways, SA Express Airways (SAX) and Broadband Infraco failed to meet Tuesday's deadline, in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act, the ministry said in a statement.
The Broadband Infraco report's delay was blamed on a technical matter. SAA and SAX could not table their reports “due to delays in the airlines’ finalisation of the various reports that must accompany their annual financial statements”.
The reports would be tabled at a later date, to be published in Parliament's announcements, tabling and committees bulletin on Tuesday.
In terms of the Companies Act, the SOEs had 15 calendar months after their previous annual general meetings to hold the 2014 AGM.
For SAX and Broadband Infraco, this period expires at the end of November 2015. SAA's deadline is March 31, 2015.
Democratic Alliance spokeswoman Natasha Michael said Brown's letters to Parliament about the airlines indicated that both had asked for government financial assistance, through a going concern guarantee from Treasury.
“Two weeks ago, in Parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises, representatives from Treasury, responding to funding concerns raised by the DA, stated categorically that Treasury can no longer afford to bail out failing state enterprises,” she said in a statement.
“With nine 'turnaround' strategies in 13 years and R16 billion over the past 20 years, investing any more state funds into SAA would be madness; SAA cannot be allowed to use the fiscus as its personal bank account with impunity,” Michael said.
Brown said she would, in the “not too distant future”, present Cabinet with a proposal to address state ownership of the airlines and their long-term financial stability.
“An inter-ministerial committee task team has been meeting for some time to discuss the various models and concrete proposals will soon be ready,” Brown said.
Sapa